1. Field
The present application relates generally to the operation and design of analog front ends, and more particularly, to the operation and design of a power divider/combiner for use in an analog front end.
2. Background
Beamforming transceivers having multiple antennas are typically utilized to transmit and receive signals over wireless links operating at millimeter wavelengths, for instance to transmit and receive signals at 60 GHz. Almost all beamforming transceivers utilize a power divider/combiner network. During signal transmission (Tx), the divider/combiner network is used to divide the power of a transmit signal between a plurality of antennas. During signal reception (Rx), the divider/combiner network is used to combine the power of signals received from the plurality of antennas.
One conventional power divider/combiner is referred to as a Wilkinson power divider/combiner. The Wilkinson power divider/combiner is a passive network that can be shared between Tx and Rx functions, has no power consumption, good linearity, and good noise performance. Unfortunately, one problem associated with the Wilkinson power divider/combiner is that it utilizes a large circuit area. Another problem associated with the Wilkinson power divider/combiner is that its circuit implementation typically results in closely spaced port pins, which lead to increased layout complexity.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a simple and low cost power divider/combiner that has comparable performance to a Wilkinson divider/combiner, but utilizes smaller circuit area and provides greater flexibility to decrease layout complexity.